Jan 26 Russell Bellomy: A Study in College Football Recruiting and Human Nature

If you were raised like me, you heard phrases like, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

If you've been to my house, it usually is, especially late in the summer. I take pretty good care of my lawn and my house. I put money into the upkeep, I put in time to work on things and keep them in good order. I even pay Terminix to keep bugs from getting too bad and a guy named Earl sprays my lawn so that weeds don't take it over.

But, I refuse to water the grass. Last August, we had a pretty horrible drought in Indiana...and my lawn was the color of Purdue's helmets...but without the sparkles and the shine. The grass was greener around me, and I think some of my neighbors were pretty pissed...but I didn't, and don't care. My lawn didn't die, it went dorment- that's A-OK with me.

It takes money to keep your lawn looking like a fairway. And if you don't have the money for a sprinkler system, the pain of moving a sprinkler around is infuriating, to me at least. I've got two little kids and a wife-they all need my time...and having a family costs money. So I decided my lawn isn't the utmost priority. I'm kinda pragmatic.

Like Russell Bellomy, I'd like to have a beautiful lawn. Unlike Bellomy, I've decided the costs to attain such a lawn aren't worth it for me.

The thing that's so tough about recruiting is that humans are generally fickle. Even more difficult, is generally, the younger the human, the more fickle. Bellomy had been a Purdue guy for months. On recruiting visits, much like Rob Henry a few years back, I heard he did some of the recruiting himself. But the lure of Michigan was too much for the young man out of Arlington, TX to turn down.

Make no mistake, this isn't another Roy Roundtree situation. Roundtree told Purdue coaches he was going to sign with Purdue the night before signing day. It sounds like Bellomy was honest with Purdue prior to his visit to AA (unlike Roundtree). But, like young love is fleeting, so are 'solid' verbal commitments. A prettier girl, a greener lawn, a better paying job (whatever analogy you'd like to use) has come along and Bellomy's going to pursue it.

Simply Irresistable

So you might now understand why we don't talk a ton about recruiting around here. We know it's happening, we're not ignoring it. We just don't want to get too emotionally tied to someone that might or might not ever get on campus...even then, you never know what's going to happen. Waaaaaaaaay back in November and December, Bellomy told Hope and Co. that he was solidly-committed to Purdue. He tweeted the same thing yesterday, this time to UM and Hoke. Good thing for UM that signing day is less than 7 days away, I guess.